Statues of the Memorial

The Young Man

 

NPS photo; memorial design by Gehry Partners, LLP; sculpture by Sergey Eylanbekov

On a pedestal at the northwest plaza entrance, a life-size sculpture of Eisenhower as a young man depicts the trajectory of his life as the quintessential American story. Inscribed in stone nearby is an excerpt from Eisenhower's Abilene Homecoming Speech on June 22, 1945.

Before Eisenhower was a general or a president, he was a “barefoot boy” in Abilene who dreamed about his future. A strong family and community raised him. Dwight’s parents, David and Ida, structured family life around religion, school, as well as hard work on the farm and creamery. As a result, he became a good student, worker, athlete, and general. In June 1945, Eisenhower returned to his hometown as not the leader of the forces that helped to defeat Nazi Germany but as another citizen who was proud of the values that he learned from the people there.

 

Honoring the General

 

NPS photo; Memorial design by Gehry Partners, LLP; Sculpture by Sergey Eylanbekov

On the right side of the memorial core, Eisenhower as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II is commemorated by a bronze heroic-sized statue with sculptures of his soldiers inspired by the famous photograph with the 101st Airborne Division before their jump into France. Behind the sculptures is a bas relief depicting the Normandy landings on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

During the Second World War, General Eisenhower spoke with soldiers, sailors and pilots from a wide variety of backgrounds and forged them into an effective team. From November 1942 through December 1943, Ike’s diplomacy and determination created a multinational headquarters that controlled British and American units. His forces liberated North Africa, Sicily and Southern Italy which weakened Nazi Germany’s strategic position.

The culmination of Eisenhower’s success in building an allied force was the amphibious assault from the southern coast of England to Normandy, France. [second sentence removed] On the night of 5\6 June 1944, British and American airborne personnel landed behind enemy lines and they secured the flanks of the beaches from German attack. After an air and sea bombardment that morning, British, Canadian, and American troops stormed ashore from small landing craft to defeat Germans in fortified positions. American commandos, known as Rangers climbed up the one hundred foot tall cliff at Pointe du Hoc where they destroyed a dangerous German artillery position.

Eisenhower’s forces then made great sacrifices along a broad front that moved across Western Europe into Germany. Many of them were buried in a series of military cemeteries on the continent. For the rest of his very active life, Eisenhower remembered the high price that his personnel paid to preserve humanity’s right to choose their own governments. On the twentieth anniversary of D-Day, he visited one of the Normandy cemeteries and said, “These people gave us a chance… so that we can do better than we have before.”

 

Honoring the President

 

NPS photo; memorial design by Gehry Partners, LLP; sculpture by Sergey Eylanbekov

On the left side of the memorial core, the bronze heroic-sized statue of Eisenhower as 34th President of the United States places him at the center of the White House Oval Office flanked by sculptures of civilian and military advisors, symbolizing the balance Eisenhower struck between conflicting demands of national security and peaceful progress. The bas-relief global background depicts a map of the world symbolizing Eisenhower's role as a world statesman and preeminent internationalist pursuing universal peace.

The 1950s was a time of sweeping change as nations adjusted to a new world order. Above it all hung the cloud of the Cold War and its threat of mutual destruction. As president, Eisenhower worked to ease that threat and bring about peace.

He began his presidency in 1952 by seeking an end to the Korean War. In 1955, with Cold War tension at a breaking point, he made a breakthrough with the Soviet Union with his Open Skies proposal. In his time in office, Eisenhower de-escalated crises worldwide with great diplomacy and tact.

On the domestic front, Eisenhower oversaw great expansion. A moderate Republican, he continued many of the New Deal programs of his predecessors. He raised the minimum wage, expanded Social Security, established the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and improved the nation's infrastructure with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.

The 1954 Brown v Board ruling by the Supreme Court declared public schools were to be desegregated. Eisenhower made sure the law was carried out, even if it meant using a measure of force. He further broke the yoke of Jim Crow when he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This protected African Americans at the voting booth and was the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

In 1957, the Soviet Union became the first nation to reach space with its satellite Sputnik. In response, Eisenhower signed off on legislation to create what is now known as NASA. The space race had begun, and, building from this foundation, would be won by Eisenhower's successors.

Eisenhower’s public approval numbers remained high during his two terms. People believed in his integrity, sincerity, and sense of duty. For his part, Eisenhower believed in the people and what they could do for the country, the world, and each other. As he said in his first inaugural address, “Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America.”